A few birders and I had seen a North Woods Eastern Screech-Owl pair
copulating the previous evening.  It had been the first time we had
seen Screech-Owls up north since last summer.  It seems that the Red
phased owl that had been downtown, has replaced one of the gray owls
from last year.

So in the late afternoon, I went up to the North Woods to look for
the owls again, since their current roosting cavities remain a
mystery. 

This evening, while waiting to see or hear the owls, we heard taped
calls from the bypass road at 103rd Street.  An owl group leader was
playing tapes.  I was disappointed to hear the tapes, since the couple
had already begun the breeding season.

Because the red phased Eastern Screech-Owl was large, it was assumed
that it was female.  But you’ll see in the pictures below, based on who
is on top, it looks the female is actually a male.  Colors late at
night can be confusing, but it’s a good bet we got the sex wrong
initially.